How are you sure you see all there is to see?

Question

this is primarily to those who are spiritually/metaphysically blind, that is, that have *NO* sense whatsoever of the "supernatual".

I see people asking and answering, who insist that metaphysical things, ghosts, souls, God, ect... all that stuff, are absolutely, certainly not real.

to these people... how can you be so sure?

how can you be SO confident that you see everything there is to see, to declare this in such a way?

those who believe it, are not (generally) claiming it has scientific evidence, but simply at most, that they have observed it.

if you were born blind, would it be legitimate for you to claim that color didn't exist?

if you are utterly unable to perceive these things whatsoever... how can you be so confident they in fact do NOT exist? rather than simply reinforcing the fact that theres no evidence to known science, or within current scientific method.

so where does this confidence in the non-existance of something you can't see at all, come from?

>>". It certainly would not exist for the blind person. So it is relative whether or not you believe in gods, ghosts or spirits. If you do not experience them, how would you believe? Just because someone else says that they do?"<<

I am not saying they should believe on faith, because others say they do.
but its unreasonable for them to insist that those things do NOT exist, because THEY can't see it.

I guess I still can't imagine how it must feel to be limited to just their 5 senses...
medicated? whos to say that theres not enough of a connection between mind and body that the medicine can't block that perception? you can have medicine to block pain, keep you from remembering a period of time, and I'm sure if they wanted to they could make medicines that would temporarily make you blind or deaf (but why would they?) that doesn't NECCESARILY mean anything.

rosenthal, I think thats a very rational, and sane way to look at it, theres no reason for you to expect to find information if you haven't seen any to begin with.

but at least you accept the theoretical possibility that its out there.

my main "problem" is with people who basically claim "since I can't see it, it absolutely doesn't exist"

in fact that leads sort of to what David said, which I think is a way of looking at it, that those who insist it doesn't exist, are in a "thou doth protest too much" type situation... why would they deny it so fervently if they simply can't see it.

if they've seen enough to know its real, but can't handle that knowlege... it would make sense.

I just don't see how its easier to deny it then to accept it and understand it.

Answer 1

Hi - You are right. We can't be sure that God does not exist. In that sense for someone to say that they are an atheist is probably wrong and indefensible. At best you can be an agnostic with a strong opinion.

However, when I was debated with myself and trying to decide if I was an atheist or an agnostic I came up with this question - Am I an atheist or an agnostic on the subject of unicorns? I've never seen a unicorn so I might be tempted to say that they don't exist. However, I haven't looked under ever rock in every forest in the world so I'm not really qualified to say that they don't exist.

So, technically speaking, I can't say that anything doesn't exist, can I?

So after much thought, I've decided to be an agnostic about God and Unicorns but one who is opened minded to new evidence and who also isn't going to waste any time looking for something that probably isn't there.

What do you think?

A

Answer 2

The most popular gods have contradictory attributes that render them impossibilities. To the same certainty that a square circle can't exist, I know for certain that a Yahweh and/or an Allah can't exist.

I disbelieve that any gods, ghosts or souls exist, but I don't claim that this is knowledge..it is a belief that I hold in the same confidence that I hold the belief that Santa Claus doesn't exist. I understand where the concepts of gods, ghosts, souls and Santa Claus come from and their reasons for being invented by human imaginations.

A blind person who disbelieves that colors exist would have to ask themselves "what would the motivation be for someone to make this colors thing up." The reasons are apparent when it comes to gods and supernatural claims.

Answer 3

I think that you answered this yourself with your point that if you were born blind, would it be legitimate for you to claim that color didn't exist. It certainly would not exist for the blind person. So it is relative whether or not you believe in gods, ghosts or spirits. If you do not experience them, how would you believe? Just because someone else says that they do? This is an individual thing. People will believe what they feel is true until proved otherwise. Until proven wrong, they have every right to be sure of their choice. It's not like people have not been proven to lie about these things, you know.

Answer 4

Excellent question! I've often wondered along the same lines...and the answer is some people are uncomfortable with the concept of there being a "hidden" reality outside of their 5 senses. But the truth is there is no way to disprove the existence of, say, spiritual or higher beings.

Answer 5

Occam's Razor. It's easier to believe a delusional person is just being consistent rather than this one episode being real.

What about when the voices/delusions disappear when the person is medicated to relieve the chemical imbalance?

Answer 6

depends on the perspective of the person . some people do see things that are not believable and make up a reason that they can handle to account for it.

Answer 7

I saw a Bumper Sticker one Time.
It said "Reality isn't Real till it Happens to You".
That outta do it!

Answer 8

Thanks for sticking up for all us people who are unsure of what we see are real or ? not to sure